Ricardo Enrique Alegría Gallardo (April 14, 1921 – July 7, 2011) was a Puerto Rican scholar, author, cultural anthropologist, and archaeologist known as the "father of modern Puerto Rican archaeology". He was a professor at the University of Puerto Rico and the first director of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. Alegria was the founder of the Museo de las Américas and of the Alpha Beta Chi fraternity. His father, José S. Alegría, was a former vice president and founding member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. It was Alegría's father who instilled in him a sense of love and pride for Puerto Rico, its history, and culture. He received his primary and secondary education in San Juan, before attending the University of Puerto Rico (UPR). While there Alegría and Yamil Galib founded a new fraternity, Alpha Beta Chi. In 1942, Alegría earned his Bachelor of Science degree in archeology from the University of Puerto Rico. He continued his academic education at the University of Chicago where in 1947 he earned his master's in Anthropology and History.
In 1954, Alegría earned his Ph.D. (doctorate) in Anthropology from Harvard University. Governor Luis Muñoz Marín named Alegría the first director of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture in the late 1950s. Alegría established the Center of Popular Arts, the Institute of Puerto Rican book publishing division. Alegría was responsible for the renovation and restoration of historical Old San Juan under the leadership of the San Juan mayor Felisa Rincón de Gautier. He also spearheaded the restoration of the ruins of the Caparra Archaeological Site and Fortín de San Gerónimo. As a result of his work Old San Juan was declared a Historical World Treasure.
In 1976, Alegría opened the Center for Advanced Studies on Puerto Rico and the Caribbean (CEAPRC). In 1992, he established the Museo de las Américas. He also formed the General Archive of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican Theater Festival. Alegría was also a professor at the University of Puerto Rico, where he created the Archaeological Research Center. Alegría was a pioneer in the anthropologic studies of the Taíno culture and the African heritage in Puerto Rico. Caribbean Business points out that, "His extensive studies have helped historians understand how the Taínos lived and suffered, before and after the Spanish conquistadors arrived on the island." Alegría estimated that about one-third of all Puerto Ricans have Taíno ancestry—results of recent DNA studies have suggested he may be right.
Early life Lineage Alegría was born to José Santos Alegría and Luisa Celestina Gallardo Veronne at San Francisco street No. 409 at San Juan, a seven-room house that was property of his mother's family, and was brought into the world by physician Luis Biamón. He was the younger of four siblings born to the couple including José Esteban (1916), María Antonieta (1917) and Félix Luis (1918). Alegría has another brother on his paternal line named Gilberto. He was named after a distant relative on his maternal side, who had died young.
His father was a lawyer, teacher, painter (disciple of Francisco Oller among others), journalist author and editor/director of magazines that included Puerto Rico Ilustrado. His grandfather was a military captain and merchant from Gipuzkoa named Cruz Alegría Arizmendi, who served as mayor of the municipality of Dorado, Puerto Rico in 1882-83 and 1885–86. Following the Spanish-American the conservative Spaniard lost his influence. In turn, his father had adopted liberal leanings since his youth and he entered politics by creating a Youth Committee for the Federal Party's youth at Barceloneta in 1902, joining and organizing Unión Puertorriqueña at Manatí two years later.
Afterwards, José Alegría would earn a degree in law from Valparaiso University, serving as municipal judge of several municipalities upon returning to Puerto Rico and developing an interest in poetry as he served the role at Manatí. Alegría's maternal family also had a military background and owned a sugar plantation named Hacienda Grande at Loíza and was also involved in politics, with her brother Luis Hernáiz Veronne serving as mayor of Canóvanas. His grandmother, Estefanía Veronne, would leave the Hacienda to his mother and uncle.
By June 1923 he was baptized as a Roman Catholic. After a schism occurred within the Union Party as a consequence of independence being rejected by the organization while led by Antonio Rafael Barceló, José S. Alegría left and created the Asociación Independentista from where he served as one of the founding members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party in 1922, being given the office of president during a brief period. In 1932, the elder Alegría would join the Liberal Party and in 1936 was elected to the House of Representatives.
Interest in the arts and sciences After hurricane San Felipe struck the island on 1928, his maternal family took refuge at their house along some of their employees. One of them, Luisa's aunt Elisita Gallardo, would remain with them afterwards and take care of the children. The house allowed the young Alegría the opportunity to oversee what happened at one of the most active segments of Old San Juan (such as the Casino de Puerto Rico) from a vantage point, and its centric location provided him the opportunity to become immersed on the daily activities such as the funeral processions or no the cultural events that took place at the Teatro Municipal (later renamed Teatro Tapia, after Alejandro Tapia y Rivera). The remnants of the colonial Spanish forts also littered its surroundings. The building also provided a private library that belonged to his father, which became his favorite spot. Being younger than his siblings, he was usually on his own and grew introverted around them. Despite this, he was mischievous on his daily life and would play pranks at the adjacent Plaza Colón and messing with the signals that forced the traffic to stop and allow the trolley to pass, earning him the chastising of local officers. Along his friends, Alegría was also part of a juvenile competition against the boys from Puerto de Tierra.
Growing up in a cultural epicenter, he would become involved in a number of ways, such as his participation in the performances that took part during the 1928 carnival, depicting a miner in the event dedicated to gemstones. The influence of his father, who had also become involved with the Puerto Rican academies of language and history, further fueled his interest in these fields. During his youth, Alegría directly witnessed the bohemian years of Luis Muñoz Marín, who lived in the adjacent San Cristóbal Apartments. As his parents took him often to a cinema, Cine Luna, he developed a hobby and would visit similar establishments throughout San Juan during the years that followed. A parallel interest in the theater of the Caribbean, dance acts and the performances of artists (Myrta Silva being among his favorites) was also born from variety shows held at some of these locales, such as Cine Rialto.
Elisita would share stories about the Hacienda, Loíza's folklore and her hobby of reading novels novels with him, but Alegría earned interest in works like Eugène Sue's The Wandering Jew and the 20-tome encyclopedia El tesoro de la juventud. It was the latter that first awoke an interest in archeology and motivated him to research the then-lost cities of Saguntum and Numantia, dreaming that one day he would discover their ruins. Noticing this interest, his father used his office as a legislator to write a letter to the Smithsonian Institution, requesting them to send books about their archeological research. Inspired by the stories about Hacienda Grande, Alegría developed an interest in Taínos, and after receiving a native ax that his maternal grandmother used as an iron, he began collecting native artifacts at the hacienda, which were the. placed in an impromptu museum at the shelfs found at the family's library. Pieces from abroad, such one acquired by one of his brothers at the Dominican Republic, were also added. He also began recording the stories that Elisita told him, creating his first compendium of local folklore. Alegría also developed other interests, such as collecting coins and stamps.
In 1931, Alegría met Pedro Albizu Campos at his father's law office at González Padín Plaza. The politician would also visit the family's house, something that others such as fellow politician Felisa Rincón de Gautier, educator Antonio S. Pedreira, historian Lidio Cruz Monclova and physician Rafael López Sicardó would do as well. In 1935, his father became the president of the luxurious Casino de Puerto Rico and introduced arts to the social center, this office also granted him the obligation of organizing carnivals. As consequence, their house would welcome a number of preliminary elements that would be used. His father exhibited an interest in architectural preservation, legislating a fund to restore Teatro Tapia and defending an old chapel named Capilla del Cristo and the Teatro Municipal when their demolition were proposed, leaving a lasting impression on Alegría.
A place known as La Barrandilla would become his social spot as he aged.
Schooling Alegría began his primary education at the adjacent José Julián Acosta School in 1928, studying there under Mrs. Consuelo Martínez, Mrs. Cintrón, Mrs. Balaguer and Mrs. Gloria Soldevila. There he took part in the Americanization program being promoted by the colonial administration, being taught in English to his amusement, since he (and other students) fooled the Anglo teachers by adopting comical names. However, the young Alegría resented this and boycotted the pledge of allegiance by not raising his hand, which resulted in him being sent home on a number of times. On another such occasion when children were told to dress as American Founding Fathers and he was warned that no-participation would mean expulsion, Alegría adopted a costume of Patrick Henry as a double entenderé and used the latter's infamous declaration as a way to antagonize the school and promoting Puerto Rican independence at the same time. His father supported this, boycotting the Fourth of July, and generally provided his children with material from his personal library as a way to undo the influence of the Americanization initiative.
As part of the new format, Alegría would mingle with students of all classes and races, including his friends Laurence Snyder De la Vega, Gino Negretti and Ramón Olivera with whom he would socialize by riding velocipede, roller skating or attending plays. In 1933, Alegría was enrolled at Román Baldorioty De Castro School where he studied under Mrs. Peña, Miss Cuadrado and Mrs. Fulladora de Gutiérrez Franqui. Around this time he became interested in biology and began another small museum with animal specimens donated by fellow student Jorge Luis Laborde, and he would also dissect them. This captures his father's attention, and he purchased a microscope for Alegría. In 1935, Alegría began high school at Central High, where he studied under Mr. Kortright, Mrs. Justo, Mr. José Colón, Mr. Millán, Mr. Palacios and Mr. Rossy among others in subjects that ranged from traditional education to mechanical writing, carpentry and electrical setup to the standard topics. One teacher in particular, Inés María Mendoza, instructed him in local literature such as El Gíbaro, and promoted a pro-Puerto Rican stance that deviated from the institutional stance.